Bradley Barcola Injury Update Emerges as Forward a Doubt for Liverpool

Next match Premier league match vs  Fulham
Liverpool attacker Bradley Barcola suffers from cramp against Atletico Madrid

Liverpool have received a huge boost with the news that Bradley Barcola was just suffering from cramp having been taken off in the second half of the Champions League victory against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, but the news isn’t so positive about Cody Gakpo, according to journalist Lewis Steele.

After picking up their first Premier League win of the season against Ipswich Town on Friday night, Andoni Iraola and his men would have been determined to follow it up with another three points when they hosted Atletico in their opening European game of the campaign.

Liverpool got off to the worst possible start when some questionable defending from Milos Kerkez allowed Marcos Llorente to score his fifth Champions League goal at Anfield in the 17th minute, but the hosts bounced back before half-time through Dominik Szoboszlai.

Alexis Mac Allister’s stunning goal five minutes after the interval proved to be the decisive one, on a positive night on Merseyside.

The one big concern on the night was the substitution of Barcola on the hour-mark after he fell to the turf, with the France international replaced by Victor Munoz amid worries from the Anfield faithful.

…but Bradley Barcola and Milos Kerkez are both OK and their substitutions were both due to cramp. — Lewis Steele (@LewisSteele_) September 9, 2026
However, Steele confirmed post-match that, having spoken to Iraola, the issue was cramp, and that the £123m signing should be available to face Fulham at home on Saturday afternoon.

Kerkez was also suffering with cramp late on, but should also be fit to face the Cottagers, but Gakpo might not be so lucky.

Gakpo Struggling With Issues in Both Legs
Cody Gakpo
Via Reuters
One player who missed out against Atletico was the in-form Gakpo, having picked up a double issue in the win at Portman Road on Friday night.

The Dutchman has been one the club’s best performers so far this season, even though he came close to a £85m move to Manchester City in the dying days of the transfer window, before Liverpool pulled the plug on the move as they failed to identify a replacement for the 27-year-old.

Iraola provided an update on his attacker post-match after Atletico, and revealed that he remains a doubt for the game on Saturday, even though it isn’t a major injury issue.

Even if the Reds are without Gakpo against the west London outfit, Iraola will be confident that Barcola, Alexander Isak and Rio Ngumoha can do the business given what he has seen from the trio in recent matches.

Barcola on His First Start

Minutes

60

Touches

23

Accurate passes

12/13

Shots

3

Big chances missed

3

Barcola would have been frustrated to miss a great chance when he poked wide when through on goal, and he will hope to get his first goal in a red shirt against Alvaro Arbeloa’s men.

Bradley Barcola
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